Double head station for card reader



A082 22, 1967 G. D. CERF ETAL 3,337,717

DOUBLE'HEAD STATION FOR CARD READER Filed June 14, 1963 2 sheets-sheet 1IN VENTORS. Afl/er 6W5/f5 A from/y G. D. CERF ETAL DOUBLE HEAD STATIONFOR CARD READER Aug. 2 2, `1967 United States Patent Oiice 3,337,717Patented Aug. 22, 1967 3,337,717 DOUBLE HEAD STATION FR CARD READERGustave David Cerf, Ambler, Pa., Gilbert Trevino Gonzalez, Danbury, andErwin Wilhelm Rosenthal, East Norwalk, Conn., and Kurt Breitschwerdt,Bernville, Pa., assignors to Remington Rand, Division of Sperry RandCorporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed .Iune 14,1963, Ser. No. 287,975 11 Claims. (Cl. 23S-61.11)

ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A device for the photoelectric sensing ofperforated data cards or tape. The device comprises a single lightsource and a pair of curved reflectors which form two separate lightbeams. Each of the beams is detected by a plurality of photocellscorresponding to the number of hole portions in a card row. Each portionof the data card is read once by each of the light beams.

This invention relates to a machine for photoelectric sensing of datarecords, particularly perforated records such as punched cards or papertape.

In general terms, the object of this invention is to provide an improveddevice for photoelectric record-reading. More specifically, forsituations where considerations such as the need for accuracy mayrequire double reading, this invention provides a compact machine whichreads a record twice within the confines of a single read station unit.In addition the unit employs a stream of air both for cooling thereading lamp and for keeping the optical channels free of dustparticles. The unit is also readily mechanically land electricallydisconnectable and permits simple adjustments and servicing andreplacement of components. Moreover it provides easy access to therecord path to relieve jams, without danger of dropping any subcomponentthat must be moved out of the way to accomplish this. All these featuresare in addition to the inherent advantages of photoelectric reading,such as the absence of moving parts and the fact that the speed of thesensing apparatus does not limit the record feed rate.

In carrying out this invention, there is provided a photoelectricrecord-reader comprising a lower unit having radiation-sensing meanstherein. An upper unit is hingedly mounted for opening and closingmovement relative to the lower unit, and means are provided forreleasably latching the upper unit to the lower unit in the closedposition. The upper and lower units define a passage therebetween for arecord such as a tabulating card. There is a chamber in the upper unitfor receiving a reading lamp which is elongated for row-by-row reading.The lamp chamber contains mounting means for the lamp which are alsoadapted for movement to align the lamp. There is 'an air passageadjacent the lamp, and a vent for distributing the air from the passagesubstantially uniformly over the length of the elongated lamp forcooling purposes. An opening in the upper unit communicates with one endof the air passage for delivering a flow of cooling air thereto, 'andthere is a conduit on the lower unit which is adapted for connection ofan air line thereto and positioned to communicate with the upper unitair-delivery opening. After the air has served its cooling purpose, itreaches the region between the upper and ,lowerunits and is therereleased and directed over the machines optical pathways for cleaningthereof. There are also means for adjusting the amount of radiationreaching the sensing means. Finally, there are means which direct theradiation over two reading pathways so as to effect double reading ofthe cards.

The invention will now be more fully explained in the succeedingdetailed description, which incorporates the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section, taken along the lines 1-1 of FIG. 2,showing the short dimension of an illustrative photoelectrictabulating-cardreader in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and sectioned,showing the long dimension of the card-reader of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective View of one type of lightadjustment member foruse in the apparatus of the preceding figures;

FIG. 4 is an elevational View of an alternative form of light-adjustmentmember for use with the foregoing apparatus;

And FIG. 5 is a vertical section, taken along the lines 5--5 of FIG. 2,showing the friction brake assembly of the same card-reader.

vReferring specifically to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the overallstructure of a photoelectric reading station for perforated tabulatingcards.. Although a tabulating-card-reader is shown by way of example, itwill readily be appreciated that many aspects of this invention areequally applicable to the photoelectric sensing of other types ofperforated records, such as perforated paper tape, and the photoelectricsensing of data records generally. Where tabulating cards in particularare concerned, however, the structure must be particularly adapted incertain ways to their requirements. Such cards are elongated in onedirection, referred to as the length direction. The information-bearinglocations, i.e. the punched or unpunched hole locations on the card, arearranged in columns extending across the width of the card and rowsextending along the length of the card. For the sake of speed in readingsuch cards, they are commonly fed width-wise through the reading stationso that the device scans a wide area in a short feed time instead of anarrow area over a long feed time. This is known as column-wise orrow-by-row feed, and it requires a laterally elongated reading stationwhich is Iadapted to accommodate the entire length of a card across thebreadth of the station. In the device of FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 2 shows thelong dimension of the reading station which accommodates the length ofthe tabulating card, and FIG. 1 shows the short transverse dimension ofthe reading station across which the card is fed.

The general organization of the reading unit is best seen in FIG. l.There it is seen that the -device includes a lower unit 14 and an upperunit 16 directly above. The two units are spaced lapart to dene atabulating card passageway 18 therebetween. The card is fed through thepassageway in the direction of the arrow Ztl by a pair of feed rollers22. On emerging from the passageway 18 the card is extracted by furtherfeed rollers 24 on the far side of the read station. The distancebetween the two sets of feed rollers 22 and 24 is slightly less than thecolumnwise dimension of a tabulating card so that the rollers keepcontrol and the card does not stall in the passageway 18. The upper unit16 contains the illumination sou-ree and optical system which shinesreading light down on the card as it passes through the passageway 18,while the lower unit 14 contains the photosensitive elements which readthe light as modulated by the tabulating card to sense the holestherein.

The lupper unit 16 -comprises a housing 26 which encloses the opticalsystem. At the bottom of the housing 26 is a metal partition block 28machined to the shape hereinafter described. At the entrance end of thecard passageway 18 the partition block 28 is formed with a slope 28a forgreater ease of ca-rd entrance. An illumihating lamp 30 is centeredimmediately above the partition block 28. Flanking the lamp 30 on eitherside are two metal reflector blocks 32 each of which has a polishedcurved mirror surface 32a adjacent to the lamp. Thus, pairs of lightbeams 34 and 36 emitted from the lamp filament 38 are reected from therespective mirror surfaces. The reflected light beams then cross eachother and pass through a common port 40 formed in the partition block28. This port is divided up .into individual light channels by a seriesof partitions 42 formed in the partition block 28 and spaced in thelengthwise direction, as lbest seen in FIG. 2. These partitions serve tobreak the light beams 34 and 36 into a series of separate light paths,one for each hole location along the tabulating card row. In this waythe partitions help prevent crosstalk between channels.

The lower unit 14 comprises a housing 50 provided with cover member 51which fits over the housing. A gasket 58 between the housing 5t) andcover member S1 serves to seal out dust that might otherwise enter thelower lunit 14. The cover member 51 is formed with a slope at 51a whichco-operates with the slope 28a to form a widened entrance opening forthe card passageway 18. An opening in the central region of the cover 51is closed by a transparent aperture plate 54 cemented in place. Theplate S4, which may be made of glass, admits the light beams 34 and 36into the lower unit 14 after they have passed through the holes punchedin the card, but prevents dust from entering. In order to prevent straylight from entering the lower unit 14, however, the aperture plate 54 isplated on the underside thereof with an opaque metal film 56 whichserves as a mask. The latter, however, is formed with light-passingapertures at the proper locations, which serve as windows to admit therespective light beams 34 and 36. The curvature of the reflectorsurfaces 32a is designed to bring each light beam to a focus near itsrespective aperture. Each focus represents a location for scanning thetabulating card. In order not to disrupt the progress of the cardthrough the passageway 18, the edges of the cover 51 adjacent the plate54 `are bent below the top sur-face thereof, so that the plate liessubstantially flush with the surface of the cover 51 to form a smoothfloor for the card passageway 18. Moreover, the leading edge of theplate is relieved at 54a so as to avoid catching the edge of the card asit slides thereacross.

Within the lower housing 50 the light-sensing apparatus is supported ona center block 60 fastened at its end to any convenient locations on theframework of the lower unit V14. On either side of the center block 60are mounting blocks 62 molded of a plastic material. Each of themounting blocks is located in the path of a different one of the lightbeams 34 and 36. The blocks 62 are each molded with a series ofpartitions 64 which further serve to define the individual lightchannels allocated to the respective card hole locations. Appropriatesurfaces are also formed on the mounting blocks 62, against whichphotocell carrier strips 66 are `clamped by means of spring clips 68.The spring 68 and the mounting blocks 62 are all secured to the centerblock 60 by means of appropriate bolts, as shown in FIG. 1. There is onephotocell '70 on each side of the reader unit for each hole locationalong the length of a card row. Each photocell 70 is connected to -acarrier strip 66 and positioned so that it is aligned with itsindividual light channel. Individual electrical leads 72 are connectedto the photocells 70, while the photocell carrier strips 66 `are made ofa conductive material so that each of them serves as a common returnconductor for the entire row of photocells 70 thereon. Common returnleads 74 are then connected to the strips 66. As seen in FIG. 2 all thephotocell leads 72 and 74 are brought out to plug receptacles 76 at thebase of the lower unit 14. There are two such receptacles,

4 one for the bank of photocells on the left of FIG. 1 and another forthe'bank on the right. Connection is made thereto by a pair of plugs 78.

FIG. l shows the advantageous double reading feature of this cardreader. As the card is fed through the passageway 18, each individualhole location will rst be scanned by the light beam 34 coming from afirst one of the reectors 32, so that the presence or absence of a holeat this location can be sensed by one of the photocells 70 in the rightphotocell bank. Subsequently, the same hole location continues to theleft where it is again scanned, this time by the light beam 36 comingfrom a second one of the reflectors 32, and sensed by one of thephotocells 70 in the left photocell bank. In this manner, the device ofthis invention achieves double reading of every bit of .information onthe tabulating card. This has obvious utility as a means ofdouble-checking lthe information to insure accuracy, and thus increasesthe reliability of the unit. Yet, such double reading is achieved withinthe confines of one read station, Without the necessity for duplicatingall components to provide -an identical second station, which would bemore expensive and require more space. By using only one of the plugs 78the unit can be employed as a single read device if desired.

Another of the features of this invention is the provision of means foradjusting the amount of reading illumination which reaches thephotocells 7 (l. This feature makes it possible for the photocell outputcurrent levels to be maintained with a greater degree of uniformity fromone photocell to another, and also as to the same photocell at differentperiods of time as the illuminating lamp 30 and the various othercomponents of the reader deteriorate. The adjustment is accomplished bymeans of members 80, one for each photocell '70 on both sides of thereader. Each of the adjustment members comprises a generally cylindricalbarrel 82 which is rotatably received within an individual bore 84formed in the associated mounting block 62. From this barrel 82 projectsa at' blade 86 which is interposed in the path of the individual lightbeam channel for a particular photocell 70 so as tO block a certainportion of the light which would otherwise reach that photocell. Byrotation of the adjustment member 80, the blade 86 can be turned so thatit presents its broad dimension to the light beam, thus blocking amaximum amount of light, or so that its thin dimension is presented tothe light beam, thus blocking a -minimum amount of light. To restrainunintentional rotation of the adjustment member 80, the barrel 82preferably makes a frictional engagement With the interior of the bore84.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate alternative embodiments of adjustment membersin accordance with this invention. The adjustment member of FIG. 3 isconveniently formed of a single sheet of an elastic material such ashardened and tempered steel. The main body of the sheet is curled into apartly cylindrical shape to form the barrel 82. It is partly cylindricalin the sense that it is curled somewhat less than a full 360, thusleaving an axially extending gap 92 in the barrel. As a result of thisgap and of the inherent flexibility of the thin sheet, the barrel can becompressed slightly upon insertion into the bore 84. Thereafter thebarrel expands against the inside walls of the bore 84, keeping thenecessary frictional fit therebetween to restrain accidental rotation.An integral extension tab adjoins one end of the sheet along an axiallyextending edge 88 of the partly cylindrical barrel 82; projectssubstantially diametrically into the interior of the barrel; and alsoextends axially out of the barrel to form the blade 86.

From FIGS. 1 and 2 it is apparent that an adjusting tool can be insertedinto the outer end of any of the bores 84- to turn the adjustment member80 mounted therein for adjusting the amount of light. In the case of theadjustment member 80 of FIG. 3, an appropriate driving tool would be akey which engages the central tab 90. The key 100 is seen in FIG. 3 tohave a central cleft 101 adapted to receive the central tab 90, while oneither side of the cleft are projections 102 which fit into the interiorof the barrel 82 and embrace the central tab 90 for exerting the turningforce on the adjustment member 80.

The alternative ladjustment member 80 of FIG. 4 is also preferably madeof a metallic material and comprises a generally tubular barrel 82"which is cleft and spread at one end. This permits the barrel to becompressed for insertion into one of the bores 84, after which thetendency of the cleft to expand provides the requisite frictionalengagement with the interior of the bore. A flat vane extends axiallyfrom the barrel 82 to serve as the light-blocking blade 86". The cleftat the end of the barrel 82 does not close completely upon insertioninto the bore 84, and thus provides a convenient notch into which toinsert a conventional screwdriver for use in rotating the member 80" foradjusting the illumination.

It is important that the illuminating lamp 30 be maintained in aposition of accurate alignment with the lightpassing apertures formed inthe opaque masking film 56, and with the photocells 70. In order tomaintain such alignment this invention provides a lamp mounting which iscapable of adjustment to vary the position of the illuminating lamp 30in both the vertical and horizontal directions. As best seen in FIG. 2,the illuminating lamp has at each end thereof a terminal cap 120 whichis used for physically mounting the lamp 30 and also for making therequisite electrical connections to its filament 38. Each of theseterminal caps 120 is resiliently gripped by a spring clip 122 (FIGS. land 2) which in turn is secured to a movable plastic block 124 by meansof a.bolt 126. A lead strip 127 for supplying energizing potential tothe lamp-mounting block '124 is pivoted to the housing 26 by a pin 128.One end of this pin ts tightly within a bore formed in a metal block 130which is secured to the housing 26 at the end of the upper unit 16. Theother end of the pivot pin 128 projects from the block 130 and isrotatably received within a channel 134 formed in the upper end of thelamp-mounting block 124. The channel 134 furthermore is verticallyelongated. Thus, the lower end of the lamp-mounting block is able torotate about the pivot pin 128, and the entire block can move verticallyrelative thereto. The rotational movement of the lower end of thelamp-mounting block 124 provides horizontal adjustment of the lamp 30,while the vertical movement provides vertical adjustment.

A leaf spring 136, which is bolted to another plastic b lock 137 securedto one side of the housing 26, operates compressively against the lowerend of the lamp-mounting block 124 to bias it to the left as seen inFIG. 1. A horizontal adjustment screw is threadedly mounted in a plasticblock 139 secured to the other side of the housing 26, and bears againstthe lower end of the lamp mounting block 124 to establish the horizontallimiting position. As seen in the cut-away portion of FIG. l the head ofthe horizontal adjustment screw 138 is accessible from outside of theupper unit housing 26, and can be turned by means of a screwdriver tomake horizontal adjustments.

The vertical adjustment is controlled by a pin 140 (FIG. 2) which isalso formed with a screwdriver head 141. A cylindrical barrel 142 formedon the pin 140 is concentrically and rotatably received within a boreformed in the block 130. A flange 146 formed at one end of the barrel142 helps to retain the pin 140 in the bore and also serves to space theblock 124 from the block 130. A spring 148 in the form of a cupped diskis nested within a hollow of the block 130 and engages the head 141 tocooperate in positioning and retaining the pin 140 in the bore. Beyondthe flange 146 the pin 140 is formed with an eccentric projection 150which is rotatably received within an opening 151 (FIG. l) formed in thelampmounting block 124. The opening 151 is elongated horizontally topermit horizontal adjusting movement of the block 125. A C-c1ip isengaged over a narrow neck of the eccentric projection to retain thelamp-mounting block 124 thereon. As the vertical adjustment pin 140 isrotated by means of its screwdriver head 141, the eccentric projection150 thereof moves up or down by virtue of its eccentricity, thus movingthe lamp-mounting block 124 vertically to adjust the lamp 30. The sametype of adjusting structure is found at the other end of the upper unit16, so that both ends of the illuminating lamp 30 can be adjusted.

The upper unit 16 of this reader is pivotally mounted on the lower unit14 so that it can be swung up and away to permit access to both unitsfor such routine servicing functions as replacement of the illuminatinglamp 30` or photocells 70, or relieving of card jams in the passageway18. lFor this purpose, the lower unit 14 is formed with fa rearwardextension to which is bolted a pair of spaced, rearwardly extending arms162, one of which is seen in the prole view of FIG. 2. See also FIG. 5.An axle pin 164 is supported -between these arms 162, and passesrotatably through la suitable bore formed in the 'block 130, to mountthe upper unit 16 rotatably thereon. When the upper unit 16 is swungupwardly about the axle pin 164, this opens up the card passageway 18 topermit relieving of card jams, and also permits access to the upper unit16 for replacing the illuminating lamp 30', as well as to the lower unit14 for the replacement of the photocells 70.

In order to avoid the damage that might occur if the upper unit 16 werelaccidentially allowed to drop from the open to the closed position,there are provided a friction brake and a mechanism for counterbalancingthe upper unit to the open position. Above the casing 26 of the upperunit 16 there is mounted a second enclosure 180 which houses -acounterbalancing spring 182. One end of this spring is anchored to abolt 184, which in turn is supported in a bracket 186 (FIG. 1) bolted tothe top of the housing 26. The other end of the counterbal-ancing spring182 is stretched by means of a cable 188 (FIG. 2). The end of the cable188 passes about -a yoke 190 engag- Iing the end of the spring 182 andis clamped back on itself by means of a crimped sleeve 1192. Thetensioning cable 188 extends rearwardly out of the open end of theenclosure and passes over a pulley 194 which is journ'aled on a shaft196. This shaft is mounted between a pair of rearwardly extending arms`197 and 198 (FIGS. 2 and 5) which are integral extensions of abackplate 199 secured to the block 130 at the back end of the upper unit16. Note that a cut-out in the backplate 199 (revealed by thesectioning) enables the vertical `adjustment screw head 141 to bereached externally of the reader. After passing over the pulley 194 thetensioning cable 188 passes through a hole in a locking pin 202. The endorf the cable on the far side of the locking pin is then fitted with acrimped sleeve 204 which prevents the cable from pulling out of thelocking pin hole. The locking pin 202 is received within bights 162aformed in the lower unit arms 162, and is held therein by the tension ofthe counterbalancing spring 182. In this way the pin 202 serves toanchor the end of the tensioning cable 188 relative to the lower unit14, so that t-he cable tenses the counterbalancing spring 182 wheneverthe upper unit 16 is moved downwardly into the closed position. Thus thespring 182 opposes a downward movement of the upper unit, to preventaccidental dropping Ithereof and to hold the unit in the open position.Reentrant cuts such as 198@ are formed in both the upper unit arms 197'and 198 to hold the anchor pin 202 when the upper unit 16, of the readeris removed. This prevents the spring 182 from pulling the pin 202 intothe upper enclosure 180 during initial assembly and any subsequentdisassembly.

A friction bnake assembly, FIGS. 2 and 5, cooperates with thecounterbalancing mechanism to prevent precipitous raising or dropping ofthe upper lunit 16, and to enable it to remain in any open position. Thebrake mechanism, generally designated 300, operates by frictionallyengaging a pair of tabs 197b and c which `depend from one of the upperunit arms 197. The brake mechanism includes a mounting pin 302 whichpasses through and is supported between the two lower unit arms 162. Thepin 302 is secured Iin place by C-clips 304, land is accommodated withinan arcuate slot 197d formed in the depending tab portion of the upperunit arm 197. This slot 197d forms the separation between the two tabs197d and c, and its -arcuate shape is designed to avoid contacting themounting pin 302 when the reader upper unit 16 -is swung open or closed.-Mounted on the pin 302 is ya sleeve bolt 306 which is yalsoaccommodated with the arcuate slot 197d. This bolt is threaded at oneend and formed with a holding head 306a at the other end (see FIG. Thebolt 306 has mounted on Iit a row of washers for various purposes. Apair of plastic friction washers 310 are located on either side of thedepending tabs 197i: and c, to exert the frictional retaining forcethereon. As seen in prole in fFIG. 2, these tabs 197 b and c intrudefrom opposite sides within the outline of the friction washers 310, `andslide substantially vertically between the washers upon opening orclosing movement of the upper unit 16. The friction washers are flankedon either side by metal washers 311 for spacing purposes. In order topress the plastic washers 310 frictionally against the tabs 19719 and cpairs of Belleville washers 312 are also mounted on the sleeve bolt 306.These washers are in effect cupped compression springs, with each pairarranged concave side to concave side, and several such pairs arrangedback-to-back along the sleeve bolt 306 as shown. An adjusting nut 314threaded on the bolt 306 is used to compress the Belleville washers 312to the desired degree as a means of adjusting the frictional brakingforce exerted on the tabs 197b and c. A lock nut 316 is tightenedagainst the nut 314 for maintaining the desired adjustment. A dependingtab of the other upper -unit arm 198 is trimmed short along an edge 198bin order not to interfere with the brake mechanism 300.

In order to hold the upper unit 16 in its iclosed position yet permitready re-opening, there is provided a latching and releasing mechanism.This includes a latch pin 210 which projects from the side of the upperunit 16. A handle 212 mounted `on :the forward extension 168 of thelower unit 14 is formed with a reentrant latching surface 212:1. Thusthe handle 212 can latch over the pin to hold the upper unit 16 inposition, but can be pulled back and released from the latch pin topermit re-opening. The handle 212 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 214which is received in a vertical channel 216 formed in a bracket 218mounted at the front end of the forward extension 168. The shaft 214oats vertically in the channel 216 to permit the necessary small upwardmovement of the handle 212 as it slips over the latch pin 210 duringlatching and releasing, but a compression spring 219 Within the channel216 acts between the upper end of the channel and the handle shaft 214to keep the shaft and the handle 212 biased downwardly. When thelatching surface 212gv is positioned over the latch pin 210 in themanner illustrated in FIG, 2 the downward pressure of the spring 219tends to keep the handle 212 pressed downwardly into engagement with thelatch pin. To re-open the upper unit 16 the handle 212 is rotated aboutits shaft 214 in the direction indicated by the arrow 220, whereupon thelatching surface 212a is released from the latch pin 210, permitting theupper unit 16 to rotate upwardly through its opening movement. A stoppin 222 in the channel 216 serves to limit the downward motion of thehandle shaft 214 so as to keep the mechanism in assembly. In additionthe bracket 216, which projects somewhat above the forward extension168, serves to establish the limiting position of the upper unit 16 soas to fix the proper vertical height for the card passageway 18.

The filament of the illuminating lamp 30 dissipates a considerableamount of heat, which would raise the temperature in the confined spaceof the upper unit 16 considerably if some method of cooling were notemployed. Therefore, a stream of cooling air is forced over the lamp 30.In providing 'this cooling stream, however, there are a number of designproblems which must be met. For example, it is desirable that the hosewhich supplies the cooling air not be connected directly to the movableupper unit 16, otherwise the hose would be moved about each time thatthe upper unit was opened or closed, and might constitute anobstruction. Secondly the length of the lamp 30, which is elongated asseen in FIG. 2 to match the length of a tabulating card, makes itdifficult to cool all portions of the lamp uniformly. In the solution ofthese problems, a coupling 260 for an air hose is mounted on the forwardextension 168 of the stationary lower unit 14, thus avoiding the problemof moving the air hose about. This coupling communicates through anopening 261 with an air passage 262 in the upper unit 16 whenever theupper unit is in the closed position. A circular gasket 264 on the topsurfaces of the forward extension 168 provides a seal between the lowerunit coupling 260 and the upper unit opening 261 and air passage 262.

Within the upper unit 16 there is a partition 270 which curves upwardlyfrom a point near the entrance to the air passage 262, and then extendsparallel to the illuminating lamp 30 above the lamp. This partition 270serves to divide the interior of the housing 26 in to the air passage262 above the partition and the lamp-receiving chamber below thepartition, Thus the air which is forced into the passage 262 flows overthe top surface of the partition 270 and `rearwardly along the passage262 as shown by the arrows 271. In order to permit the air then to flowdownwardly over the lamp as also shown by the arrows, the partition isformed with a vent 272 best seen in FIG. l. In the design of this typeof equipment it has been found that if the width of the vent is uniformalong its length, differing :amounts of air reach the different portionsof the lamp 30, resulting in non-uniform cooling. This problem is met bytapering from vent 272 from one end of the air passage 262 to the other.In the particular embodiment shown here, it has been found that a highpressure area develops at the rearward end of the air passage 262,resulting in a tendency for more cooling air to ow over that end of theilluminating lamp 30. Therefore, as seen in FIG. 1 the vent 272i tapersfrom la wider portion at the front end to a narrower portion at the backend, with the result that the cooling air is more uniformly distributedover the length of the extended lamp 30.

The arrows 271 also show (FIG. l) that after the air ows downwardly pastthe lamp 30, it exits through the port `40 formed in the center of thepartition block 28, thus clearing this optical pathway of dust and dirt.The air is then released through a channel 280 at the side of thepartition block 28. This directs the released air over the upper surfaceof the lower unit 14 so as to clear dust and dirt which might otherwisecollect on the optical windows of -the aperture plate 54. In addition,the pressure of the `air in the channel 280 serves to press thetabulating card downwardly so that it lies ilat in the passageway 18.This is important because the slanted paths of the light beams 34 land36 cause any vertical displace-ment of Athe tabulating card to result ina shift in `the timing of the card-reading process.

It will now be realized that this invention comprises a photoelectricreader unit having a multiplicity of advantages. In particular, thisdevice accomplishes double reading for increased reliability andaccuracy, yet it does so in a compact unit which occupies no more spacethan a single read device and does not require a full doubling ofcomponents. Moreover, the unit is easily openable for ready servicingaccess, such as clearing of card jams and the replacement of lamps orphotocells. An improved cooling structure is provided which distributesthe cooling air uniformly over the length of the elongated lamp,

and at the same time the cooling air serves to clean the opticalpathways of the reader. In addition, a way is provided to prevent theair supply hose from getting in the way ofthe opening and closingmovement of the unit. Also readily accesible means are provided forsensitive positioning adjustments of the lamp, and adjustments of theamount of light reaching each photocell.

What has been described is Ia preferred embodiment and is believed to bethe best mode of practicing the invention, but it will be clear to thoseskilled in the art that modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the principles of the invention, the scope of theinvention being stated in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A record-reader comprising:

a lower unit;

an upper unit hingedly mounted for opening and closing movement relativeto the lower unit;

means for releasably latching the upper unit to the lower unit in theclosed position;

means for counterbalancing and braking the upper unit in the openposition;

the upper and lower units defining a record passage therebetween whenthe upper unit is in the closed position;

a chamber in the upper unit for receiving an elongated lamp having aradiationand heat-producing element for directing radiation toward therecord passage and the lower unit;

a pair of radiation-sensing means in the l-ower unit;

means for directing the radiation in two pathways to the respectivesensing means in a manner to effect double reading of the recordinformation locations;

means adjacent the record passage to admit radiation to the sensingmeans;

means for mounting the lamp in the chamber, said mounting means beingadapted for movement to align the lamp with the radiation-sensing meansand radiation-admitting means;

means defining an air passage adjacent the lamp chamber;

means for distributing air from the passage substantially uniformly overthe length of the lamp for cooling purposes;

an opening in the upper housing communicating with the air passage fordelivering a ow of air thereinto;

a conduit on the base unit adapted for connection of an air linethereto, said conduit being positioned to communicate with the upperunit air-delivery opening for supplying air thereto when the upperhousing is in the closed position;

means at the lower surface of the upper unit for releasing air therefromand directing the released air over the radiation-admitting means forcleaning thereof;

and means for adjusting the amount of radiation reaching the sensingmeans.

2. A record-reader comprising:

means for receiving a lamp for directing a radiation beam;

means for sensing radiation;

means mounting the sensing means in the path of the radiation beam;

means for interposing a record across the radiation beam;

means adjacent the path of the radiation beam formed with a cylindricalbore extending transversely to the path;

an adjustment member including an at least partly cylindrical 'barrelrotatably received within the bore, said 'barrel being frictionallyengaged with the bore to restrain unintentional rotation, saidadjustment member including a substantially planar blade projectingaxially from the barrel out of the bore and into the path of the saidradiation beam for at least partial interruption thereof.

3. A record-reader as in claim 2 wherein:

the adjustment member comprises a sheet of material curled to form thebarrel;

and an integral extension of the sheet projects from one axiallyextending region of the barrel surface substantially diametrically intothe interior of the barrel and also extends axially from the barrel toform the blade. i

4. A record-reader as in claim 2 wherein:

the part of the barrel remote from the blade is cleft to cooperate witha screwdriver blade;

and the opposing parts on opposite sides of the cleft are spread to biasthemselves apart to provide a friction t Within the bore, the cleftpermitting compression of the opposing parts together to facilitateinsertion into the bore.

5. A record-reader comprising:

means for directing radiation toward the information locations of arecord;

radiation-sensing means aligned with the radiationdirecting means;

a housing for a lamp capable of providing the radiation;

and means for mounting the lamp in the housing, said means being movablefor aligning the lamp with the radiation-directing means andradiation-sensing means, including- 4a pivot pin secured to the housingand projecting internally therefrom,

a lamp-mounting block in the housing formed with a channel rotatably andslidably receiving the pivot P111,

adjustment means driveable from outside the housing for advancementrelative to the housing against the mounting block to rotate themounting block about the pivot pin for adjustment in a selecteddirection,

means resiliently biasing the mounting block against the adjustingmeans,

and an adjusting pin mounted for concentric rotation relative to thehousing and formed with an eccentric projection,

the mounting block being formed with a channel receiving the eccentricprojection, the channel 'being elongated in the selected direction andsized for ysliding of the mounting block relative to the eccentricprojection during adjustment in the selected direction and for rotatablyclasping the eccentric projection for adjustment of the mounting blocktransversely to the selected direction in response to eccentric rotationthereof.

6. A record-reader comprising:

a lower unit;

radiation-sensing means in the lower unit;

an upper unit hingedly mounted for opening and closing movement relativelto the lower unit;

the upper and lower units defining a record-passage therebetween whenthe upper unit is in the closed position;

a chamber in the upper unit for receiving an elongated lamp having aradiationand heat-producing element for directing radiation toward therecord passage and the lower unit;

means in the upper unit dening an air passage extending substantiallyparallel to the lamp-receiving chamber, said means including a partitionseparating the air passage from the lamp-receiving chamber;

an opening in the upper unit communicating with the air passage fordelivering a flow of air thereinto;

a vent formed in the partition, said vent being tapered toward one endof the air passage to provide a substantially uniform flow of air to thelamp for cooling purposes;

a conduit on the lower unit adapted for connection of an air linethereto, Vand positioned to communicate with the upper unit air-deliveryopening for supplying air thereto when the upper unit is in the closedposition;

means adjacent the record passage for passing radiation from the lamp tothe sensing means;

and an exit path at the lower surface -of the upper unit for releasingthe cooling air therefrom and directing the said air at theradiation-passing means for cleaning thereof.

7. A record-reader comprising:

abase unit;

a second unit hingedly mounted for opening and closing movement relativeto the base unit;

means in the second unit for receiving a lamp having a radiationandheat-producing element for directing radiation toward the record;

means in the second unit defining an air passage near the lamp-receivinglocation to conduct air for cooling purposes;

an opening in the second unit communicating with one end of the airpassage for delivering a tlow of air thereinto;

and a conduit on the base unit adapted for connec tion of an air linethereto, and positioned to com` municate `with the second unitair-delivery opening for supplying air thereto when the second unit isin the closed position.

8. A record-reader comprising:

ahousing;

a chamber in the housing for receiving an elongated lamp having aradiationand heat-producing element;

means in the housing defining an air passage extending substantiallyparallel to the lamp-receiving chamber, said means including a partitionseparating the air passage from the lamp-receiving chamber;

an opening in the housing communicating with the air passage fordelivering a liow of air thereinto;

a vent formed in the partition and tapered toward one end of the airpassage to provide a substantially uniform iiow of air to the lamp forcooling purposes.

9. A record-reader comprising:

a lower unit;

radiation-sensing means in the lower unit;

an upper unit hingedly mountedv for opening and closing movementrelative to the lower unit;

the upper and lower units dening a record passage therebetween when theupper unit is in the closed position; means in the upper unit forreceiving a lamp having a radiationand heat-producing element fordirecting radiation toward the passage and the lower unit;

means in the upper unit defining an air passage near the lamp-receivinglocation to conduct air for cooling purposes;

means communicating with lthe air passage for delivering a ow of airthereinto;

means adjacent the record passage for passing radiation from the lamp`to the sensing means;

and an exit path at the lower surface of the upper unit for releasingthe cooling air therefrom and directing the air at the radiation-passingmeans for cleaning thereof.

10. A reader as in claim 9, -wherein a port is formed at the lowersurface of the upper unit, the said port comprising at least part of theradiation-passing means and also comprising at least part of the exitpath whereby to be cleaned by the release of the cooling airtherethrough.

11. A reader as in claim 9, wherein the radiationpassing means includeswindow means at the upper surface of the lower unit positioned inrelation to the exit path to be swept by the cooling air exitingtherefrom, for cleaning of the window means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,916,624 12/1959 Angel Z50-2193,036,765 5/1962 Jones 23S-61.11 3,056,332 10/1962 Beregowitz 88-243,244,062 4/ 1966 Sweet 88-14 MAYNARD R. WILBUR, Primary Examiner.

R. E. COUNCIL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A RECORD-READER COMPRISING: LOWER UNIT; AN UPPER UNIT HINGEDLYMOUNTED FOR OPENING AND CLOSING MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE LOWER UNIT;MEANS FOR RELEASABLY LATCHING THE UPPER UNIT TO THE LOWER UNIT IN THECLOSED POSITION; MEANS FOR COUNTERBALANCING AND BRAKING THE UPPER UNITIN THE OPEN POSITION; THE UPPER AND LOWER UNITS DEFINING A RECORDPASSAGE THEREBETWEEN WHEN THE UPPER UNIT IS IN THE CLOSED POSITION; ACHAMBER IN THE UPPER UNIT FOR RECEIVING AN ELONGATED LAMP HAVING ARADIATION-AND HEAT-PRODUCING ELEMENT FOR DIRECTING RADIATION TOWARD THERECORD PASSAGE AND THE LOWER UNIT; A PAIR OF RADIATION-SENSING MEANS INTHE LOWER UNIT; MEANS FOR DIRECTING THE RADIATION IN TWO PATHWAYS TO THERESPECTIVE SENSING MEANS IN A MANNER TO EFFECT DOUBLE READING OF THERECORD INFORMATION LOCATIONS; MEANS ADJACENT THE RECORD PASSAGE TO ADMITRADIATION TO THE SENSING MEANS; MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE LAMP IN THECHAMBER, SAID MOUNTING MEANS BEING ADAPTED FOR MOVEMENT TO ALIGN THELAMP WITH THE RADIATION-SENSING MEANS AND RADIATION-ADMITTING MEANS;